The Thing About Loving Trees
by spazzy risu
Summary: Rivendell. Legolas was so happy to finally return. Happy until he began having odd, throbbing headaches with no clear cause, but for his return to the place and people that he loves...
1. Chapter 1

The Thing About Loving Trees 

**Disclaimer**: Don't own any of the recognizable characters. Nope. Not one. There have been several kidnapping attempts aimed at Legolas, and one for the twins, but the stupid human just keeps getting in the way. Guess that I'll have to get him out of the picture first, won't I? Also, the only profit that I turn from writing this is the lovely reviews that you'll be leaving.

**Author's Note:** This is the first fic that I've posted, and Suri is my beta, so any errors, typos, indescrepancies, un-truths, extreme out of characterness, general bad writing skills, etc. are all the mad plot bunny's fault. If you would be kind enough to point them out to me, then I will be sure to give said bunny a good flogging, and the error, typo, indescrepancy, un-truth, extreme out of characterness, or general bad writing skill will be punished severely as well. Also, I am a very busy little squirrel, and coughsplutter REVIEWS coughsplutter help keep me motivated to write/update my story quicker.

Chapter 1 

Aragorn sighed theatrically. Rivendell had gotten rather dull since Legolas left for Mirkwood two weeks ago. He wanted to be out doing something. But here he was, sitting on the balcony of his room in Rivendell, watching pale slivers of light dance on the ground, created by the last rays of the setting sun as they filtered through the leaves of the tall birch tree in the courtyard.

He sighed. Elladan and Elrohir were on a hunting trip. When he had showed up at the gates yesterday with his bow and his pack, they had turned his pleas to accompany them down forcefully. They argued that any party he was a member of was doomed not to return in one piece, and they wanted a nice, relaxing trip. When that had not deterred him, they simply stated, "we need some time to bond", turned on their heels, and marched away, leaving him standing at the open gate, his mouth gaping wider.

The twins were extremely close, in fact, it really wasn't possible for them to get any closer, so this made a rather poor excuse to leave Aragorn, but also made him realize that they hadn't really had any time to themselves in a while. With the twins, "alone" time was really "together" time. Aragorn sometimes liked to think of them as conjoined twins; their minds were certainly connected. However, with this perspective on their relationship, he sometimes forgot that they still needed time to talk, just the two of them. Well, he didn't really feel like hunting anyway.

Restless, Aragorn decided to take a walk through the gardens, but rather than bothering to climb down the stairs, he simply jumped off the railing of the balcony, and into the nearest tree.

He didn't land quite perfectly, missing the branch that he was aiming for. He still managed to catch onto a lower one, but not without getting a little trophy scrape on his arm. _ Well, that's what you get for thinking that you could pull one of Legolas's tricks_, he thought. He climbed down the tree, and stood at its base for a moment, inhaling the pungently sweet scent of green grass and blooming flowers.

Aragorn walked along a small path, watching the fireflies flickering in the trailing branches of the willow trees, spiraling towards the ground to alight on silky wildflower petals. As he walked deeper into the gardens, and the plant life became a bit more unruly, he began to hear the sound of rushing water.

Ah, he was getting close.

He sprinted the last hundred yards, more to stretch his legs than to get where he was going faster. He broke through the foliage, and into a small cove. This was his favorite place in all of Rivendell. The grass was long and soft and cool, and perfect for napping on during hot summer days. It swayed softly in the cool night breeze, it's blades musical rustling combining with the slight whistle of the willow leaves and the soothing sound of the small waterfall that splashed over the lip of the cove, cascading down the rocks in a shimmering stream, and falling into a pool that couldn't be more perfect if it had been carved out of the rock by dwarven kings. It was just big enough to swim in, but more often than not, he chose to sit and soak in the water, drinking in the scent of blooming water lilies.

He also liked to lie on the bank in the cool, tall grass, and watch the stars. He had spent many a day playing in the water, and many a night discussing life and all of it's complications, or sometimes just watching the stars reflecting off the tranquil surface of the water in companionable silence, with his best friend, Legolas Greenleaf.

He was lonely without anyone to talk to, and he secretly wished that Legolas had ignored his father's summons and stayed in Rivendell. He had been summoned back to Mirkwood. It was rather unexpected, because Legolas had made plans to spend the whole summer in Rivendell with Aragorn, and had informed his father of these plans before he left.

Legolas had received word from a messenger not three days after he had arrived. He had been annoyed at his father's brazen-ness, but was also worried that maybe something really serious was happening. He decided to return home immediately, promising not to be too long, and flatly refusing to let Aragorn accompany him.

Aragorn wasn't exactly given a warm welcome in Mirkwood. In fact, he was practically shunned. King Thrandruil thought it extremely unbefitting for a prince of Mirkwood to befriend a human, no less a human like Aragorn, who had too many oddities to be a good influence on his son. Thrandruil also thought poorly of lord Elrond, not seeing why the seemingly wise elf would have adopted such a strange human into his family, and allowed him into his house.

Legolas had thought that it was going to be a fairly short visit, and he didn't think that bringing Aragorn along was worth the trouble it would cause, especially since he also only wanted to spend a nice, enjoyable summer among friends, and he didn't think that he would be able to have as much fun in Rivendell if he was thinking about some petty argument that he had had with his father back in Mirkwood. So Legolas had left for home, only a few days after arriving, quashing Aragorn's plans for the next week or so, but assuring him that he would hasten back.

Aragorn looked at the elm tree towering above him. It was Legolas's favorite tree in Rivendell, and rightfully so. It must have been at least a thousand years old, it's strong old branches reaching out over the pool, and concealing the cove from above. He walked over to the tree, placing his hand on its trunk. "Ai, if only I were an elf like Legolas, than you would talk to me. I think that I would like to hear your voice, great tree." He told it, then he turned his face upwards, eyeing the great boughs searchingly.

He could almost see Legolas flitting between the branches, climbing one of the longer ones out over the lake, diving into the water with a shout of joy…or sometimes when he was in a more somber mood, he would climb into the higher branches, and nestle himself into them, and begin to sing. And Legolas sang beautifully.

His voice lifted on the wind, and he sang of many things, though most often he sang about the great tree itself, about how it had watched the woods grow and change through all the long years it had stood there, from the time it was merely a seedling, fighting for sunlight to nourish itself as weeds threatened to overgrow it, and tried to choke it's roots away from the water that the pool supplied it. How it hadn't given in, and it had soon grown taller than the weeds, it's roots stronger, and when it was big enough, it protected and sheltered other young saplings from them.

These trees grew and flourished, repeating the kindness that it had done them for the next generation of saplings. So the forest grew, the trees strong and pure and healthy. Yes, this was indeed a magnificent tree. Oh how he longed to talk to it, how he wished to hear its voice. Legolas loved this tree, and spent many an hour cradled in its boughs, listening to all of the wonderful tales it had to tell. He would laugh softly, his eyes glittering. Legolas often relayed these stories to Aragorn, who instead swam or watched the stars on warm nights, when the tree had endless stories to share.

He wondered if the tree missed Legolas. Aragorn did, and he had only been gone for a few days. The tree must have noticed Legolas's absence from this particular visit. It was getting late, and Aragorn's stomach rumbled, reminding him that he would miss supper if he didn't hurry back. Placing his forehead to the tree's trunk, he whispered a goodbye in elvish. The highest branches swayed slightly in the wind as he sprinted lightly towards his home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: Don't own any of the recognizable characters. Nope. Not one. There have been several kidnapping attempts aimed at Legolas, and one for the twins, but the stupid human just keeps getting in the way. Guess that I'll have to get him out of the picture first, won't I? Also, the only profit that I turn from writing this is the lovely reviews that you'll be leaving.

**Author's Note: **Gasp! Four reviews in two days! runs around and hugs everyone! I am a really slow poster, because I edit everything to death, but the reviews have inspired me, so I stayed up all night to get this out ASAP. Reviewer responses at bottom of story!

**Chapter 2:**

Aragorn, Elrond, and Arwen ate a simple meal, conversing lightly, speaking of the things that they planned to do when Elrohir, Elledan, and Legolas finally got back. Aragorn sighed, wishing that Legolas was already there. He silently vowed to himself that he wasn't going to waste one single second of their time together as soon as Legolas arrived. The trio talked until Aragorn yawned widely.

"Oh my," Elrond said, looking out the window at the night sky. "Look at how late it has gotten. No wonder Estel is tired. In fact, I think that we should all get some sleep. Elrohir and Elledan are due back either tomorrow or the day after, and I would like to be well rested, if I shall have to deal with those two's bickering once more."

Aragorn agreed wholeheartedly, and after two fond goodnight hugs, he slipped back to his own room. He slid under his crisp, clean sheets, and the last thing he saw before he shut his eyes was the top of the magnificent elm swaying high above the other treetops.

Elrohir and Elledan returned the next day, relaxed and happy, it seemed that there had been very little bickering on this trip, which was a rare occurrence indeed. Aragorn was finally entertained, listening to tales of their trip, and storing away tiny mishaps in the back of his mind, knowing that they would come in handy, should he need any quick comebacks at a later hour.

The day passed quickly, and Aragorn did not venture from the house for it's entirety. Indeed, He didn't have any need to. He was content as he prepared for bed that night, and he happily thought about how good it would be to spend an entire summer with his best friend. Legolas should be arriving any day now, and then they would have months of time.

Legolas did indeed arrive the next evening, a little bit before sundown. He looked energetic and happy, and, as always, Aragorn was delighted to see him. " Mellon-nin!" He exclaimed as Legolas rode through the gates. "Does all go well in Mirkwood?"

"Yes", Legolas replied, swinging down from his horse gracefully. "Political issues. They have been resolved. I should be back to stay."

"Well good!" Aragorn replied, clasping Legolas' forearm. Come, you must tell me all about it.

Legolas and Aragorn got a platter of fruit from the kitchen, and carried it back to Legolas' room, so that they could talk while he unpacked the few things he would need that weren't already in Rivendell. "So, what was the trouble in Mirkwood?" Aragorn asked curiously.

"Well", Legolas began, "It seems that we were having some border disputes with our neighbors, the clan of elves that lives beyond the river. So father invited their king and his court to Mirkwood, informing them of his desire to put and end to the pointless disputes. I was to be the pacifist, to a certain degree. Father thought that we would present a less hostile front if we were working as a family unit. He also said that he wanted my help with the negotiations, but there was never really a need for my counsel. It has been a very boring two weeks."

"And all went well?" Aragorn queried.

"Well enough. We came to an agreement, but I did not much care for their party. They had an unsavory air about them, something that I couldn't quite place, just an odd feeling that shouldn't be there. But that land also has an unsavory air.

There was one elf in particular that bothered me. Lothmir was his name. I caught him snooping around outside of the guest wing of the palace several times. I actually caught him at my door, in the royal sleeping chambers. After that, I recommended that the other elves lock their chamber doors when they weren't occupied or their owners were sleeping. I kept a close eye on him as well, but he didn't try anything else. Nonetheless, I was grateful that my part in the negotiations was over, and happy to come back to Rivendell."

"But aren't you worried about your father? The rest of your family?" Aragorn asked. He certainly was.

"No, I'm not worried. My father and I discussed our options at length, and he didn't want to detain me any longer. I can assure you that he is fully aware of the risks. He has assigned a few elves from the castle guard to Lothmir, and has several more monitoring the rest of the party. They will be fine."

" Very well then. Enough serious talk! Lets go find the twins and have some fun!" Aragorn exclaimed, figuring that Legolas had had enough political animosity to last him a while. Legolas readily agreed, and the two were off down the hall like a flash. They met up with Elledan and Elrohir halfway to the stairs.

The two had just left their room, and were taken by surprise as two heavy bodies came hurtling into them. The four fell into a noisy dogpile. Elrond sighed happily. He was sitting in his study, but he could still hear the commotion through the walls. Things were always so lively when the four of them were thrown together. He liked hearing them racing through the halls, it reminded him of when they were all tiny elflings, small enough to snatch up into his arms as they went racing by, trying to escape their bedtime.

Legolas was the first to disentangle himself from the pile, and he aided the other three's escape with a few strategically placed kicks. "Lets go swimming." He suggested.

" I know exactly the place" Aragorn replied.

"Oh Really?" Legolas asked sardonically, cocking one perfect eyebrow, "I'll race you there."

Aragorn was off down the hall the minute he heard the word "race". Legolas quickly caught up with his long stride, and the twins followed along a few paces behind, not exactly sure where they were going. Legolas picked up speed until he was several yards ahead, then settled into that pace, easily keeping his lead. The group reached the pool panting, and a bit out of breath.

"Ai, Legolas, I can't keep up with your elven speed!" Aragorn laughed.

"Yes, but you certainly try" Legolas teased, leaping into the water. He barely disturbed the surface. He reappeared several seconds later at the complete opposite end of the pool, his head popping up directly under the waterfall. "The water is perfect!" he yelled, waving an arm above his head in an invitation.

The four of them swam for hours, splashing and enjoying each other's company. Finally, Aragorn wore out. He swam away from the group of tussling elves. They were trying to shove each other under the surface, Laughing as they came up for air. Aragorn sat alone on the bank, watching his brothers and Legolas, who were now faintly glowing in the near-dark.

He was struck by a sudden bought of depression. He had always lived amongst immortals. It had never really bothered him, everyone was very careful to make sure that he fit in, and for the most part, they needent be as careful as they were. He hadn't really ever felt that his mortality affected his relationships with elves, but as he thought about it, sitting in the glade watching the three elves tussle in the water, he realized that it did. It affected every aspect of his life with these people. His perception of the world was totally different from theirs. His senses were less keen, and didn't have as many dimensions. Elves were constantly in touch with nature, feeling it, hearing it, it understood them, was always there for them, and they understood it. Along with this realization came a bittersweet longing.

He felt closer to Legolas than he did to any other creature, man or elf, but could Legolas really consider Aragorn his best friend? Could an elf really consider a human his best friend? Aragorn was not sure. However, he didn't have any time to dwell on the issue. Noticing his friend's absence, Legolas came bounding out of the water, smiling happily. He plopped down on the grass next to Aragorn, and flipped his long hair out of his face, re-drenching Aragorn's half-dried clothes. He stretched luxuriously on the long grass. "It's good to be back." he stated simply, a happy sigh escaping his lips.

"It's good to have you back" Aragorn replied, watching his twin brothers, who were still tussling in the water. They had worked their way back under the waterfall, and all that he could see was an occasional flash of brown hair or a wildly flailing limb. Legolas took this in as well, and snorted derisitively. A single leaf disengaged itself from the elm tree, riding the gentle breeze, until it landed lightly on Legolas' chest.

"Ah, the elm greets me at last!" Legolas exclaimed, jumping up and launching himself into its welcoming branches. "How are you, my friend?" He asked the tree in Sindarian, even though it was hardly necessary for him to voice the question. The verbalization was really more for the sake of Aragorn (who had clambered up into the tree next to Legolas). The leaves rustled quietly in the wind, and Legolas smiled, his eyes twinkling happily.

He must have sorely missed his special tree while he was away. Aragorn had certainly missed his own special friend. Maybe that was the connection between Legolas and this tree. For all Aragorn knew, Legolas could love this tree more that him. That was issue in this situation. Aragorn didn't know. Couldn't know, and probably never would even be close to knowing how the elf's heart truly functioned, because however connected he felt with Legolas, Aragorn lived in a three-dimensional world, while Legolas lived in a four-dimensional one.

Aragorn considered voicing these thoughts to Legolas, but as soon as he opened his mouth to speak, Elrohir shouted loudly. Apparently he had been ready to escape Elledan's death-grip. Legolas threw a loose piece of bark at the pair, and then he turned back to Aragorn, who found that he couldn't spoil the elf's giddy mood. He sighed, and then shook those dark thoughts from his mind, leaning back against the tree trunk.

A little more than a half an hour later, when the twins had finally crawled onto the bank to dry, and when Aragorn had fallen into a more peaceful strain of thoughts, Legolas began to sing. He sang about the simple pleasure of being among loving friends, and a friendly people, of how easily the frustrations of life could be so easily forgotten in their special glade, and then he sang praise to his elm, the forest, and the stars for being so grand. He sang for a few minutes, and was just beginning to settle down for what may have been a night-long serenade, when his voice cracked. Aragorn turned and looked at Legolas curiously. He must still be tired from his journey here. The twins were also curious, as they had climbed up into the tree as well.

"Are you alright?" Elledan asked, knowing exactly how odd it vas for an elf's voice to crack.

"You must still be tired from your trip" Aragorn added sufficiently.

"Yes", Legolas replied, " I am feeling a bit achy, perhaps it would be better if we came back tomorrow night?"

"That sounds fine to me" Elrohir said, the healer inside him starting. Legolas had never been one to admit to being tired. Or having broken bones. Or gaping wounds. Well, perhaps he was starting to accept that he could tell people when he was tired. Or perhaps he was in more pain than he was letting on.

The four of them clambered down out of the tree, and Legolas sang on the walk back. The hoarseness of his voice didn't elude one of them.

**Reviewer responses:**

Of PiratesAndElves: Well thanks for reviewing! The reviews have inspired me to get this chapter out right away!

Invisigoth3: Thanks for the compliments! Here's your chapter. BTW, awesome name.

SmilingDragonGirl: Thanks! I looove long reviews. Glad that you liked the disclaimer. Wow. So many compliments. My head is ballooning! Here (was?) your chapter.

Viggomaniac: Well, If he won't let me kidnap the pretty little elves….But no. I'm not gonna kill him. Hurt him a little bit, yes. But I couldn't kill him. Maybe I'll just kidnap all four….


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**: Don't own any of the recognizable characters. Nope. Not one. There have been several kidnapping attempts aimed at Legolas, and one for the twins, but the stupid human just keeps getting in the way. Guess that I'll have to get him out of the picture first, won't I? Also, the only profit that I turn from writing this is the lovely reviews that you'll be leaving.

**Authors Note: ** Well, thanks for reading this everybody! Arialas was kind enough to point out to me that I have been spelling Elladan wrong up to this chapter_. Smacks head and runs away to sit in corner_ If anybody else catches any more foolish errors like this, please drop a review about it. Or shoot me. Whichever one's easier.

**Chapter 3:**

Legolas awoke with the first rays of the sun. He didn't arise immediately, taking a minute to assess himself. The episode from last night had frightened him quite a bit more than he had let on. He had felt fine upon his arrival. The trip to Rivendell had been an easy one, even a relaxing one, especially after the tension of being back with his overly stressed father. He hadn't begun to feel that something was off until much later on in the evening, after he had gone swimming with Estel and the twins. It had begun slowly, a dull ache in the back of his head. The pain had steadily increased. Just when Legolas had almost been worried, the pain leveled out, just above a throb. Legolas was satisfied with the pain no longer increasing, and turned his attention to greeting his old friend, the elm tree that grew over the pool.

_What is wrong Legolas?_ The tree asked him, detecting his discomfort the minute that they touched.

_Nothing. My head hurts. I'm not sure why though._ He replied, swallowing a lump of uncertainty that had formed in his throat. He wondered if maybe it was something important after all.

_Well, let me see if I can do anything for you. _

_Thank you. _ Legolas replied, glad that the tree was so kind-hearted. Many of the trees in Mirkwood were being eaten away at by the long lingering evil of Sauron, and even some of the ones closer to his protected home were getting mean.

Legolas was assailed by a fresh throb of pain, it hit him at exactly the same instant that the tree entered his mind. The tree's leaves all rustled suddenly without a breeze, the equivalent of a sharp exhalation from a human. It pulled back with the lessening of the throbbing sensation.

_It is an odd ailment…I do not know what could have caused it, my friend, but I do not think that I can help. _

At that moment, Estel reached his branch. Legolas smiled at his best friend, and then leaned back into the crook formed by the tree's branches and the trunk. "So, how are you my friend?" Legolas asked the tree in Sindarian, smiling warmly, vocalizing his question for the benefit of his mortal friend. _It is probably just a stress headache. Do not worry, it will go away. _ He thought to it.

The night wore on, and the tree spoke to him of all that occurred since the last time that they had met. His headache eased up some as he relaxed, but it was decidedly still there. He began to feel tired. His throat was raw. He sang, wanting to turn his mind to something else. His voice sounded hoarse, but he didn't think that it was noticeable. A couple of minutes later, however, his voice cracked. Estel shot him a look. Elladan and Elrohir had finally climbed out of the water, and joined them in the tree. Elladan asked him if he was all right. Estel seemed to think that he was tired from his trip, and after thinking on it for a minute, Legolas decided that his strange headache probably had something to do with all of the stress that he had been dealing with lately, so he agreed, and accepted Elladan's suggestion at an early bedtime tonight.

He climbed down out of the tree, the throbbing sensation lessening a little as they walked towards Rivendell. He sang on the way, and though his voice was hoarse, his heart was light, and he basked in the company of his best friends. Legolas drank a cup of strong tea as soon as he got back to his room. This helped considerably, and by the time that he laid down to go to sleep, the dull throb was barely noticeable. He slept quite comfortably. Upon finding that all traces of his headache had vanished, Legolas jumped out of bed and began getting prepared for the day. He bathed and cleaned his teeth.

Considerably refreshed, Legolas pulled on a fluffy white bathrobe, and walked back into his room. He picked up his comb and sat on the end of his bed, running it through his still-damp hair thoughtfully. What had caused his headache last night? He wasn't sick, and elves weren't prone to migraines, which was what he had had symptoms of last night, according to Estel. He quickly dismissed the idea of poison. There had been no chance for someone to poison him since he had been in Mirkwood several days ago, and he didn't know of any poisons that were that slow acting. Perhaps he would ask Elrond about it later, if he had a mind to, but for the moment Legolas chalked his mysterious headache up to all of the stress that he had built up while in Mirkwood's sudden release upon his arrival in Rivendell. He had just finished combing his hair out, and was beginning to braid it when Estel burst in.

" Good morning Legolas!" He said brightly. "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine, thanks. Too much stress released too quickly. My brain couldn't process my feeling so good." He joked.

"Well, it's good to see you up so early. Lots to do today. Have you eaten yet?"

"Does it look like I've eaten yet?"

Aragorn looked pointedly at Legolas's bathrobe and half-braided hair. "No."

"Sharpest ranger in middle earth? Pfft, I don't want to think of what kind of observational skills lesser humans must have" Legolas taunted. Aragorn didn't rise to the bait. "Yes, and look at you! It takes you longer to get ready than it does Arwen. Fine warrior you are. You would miss the battle in order to braid your hair properly."

"I wouldn't go quite that far…" Legolas replied contritely, finishing the last braid. "There, all ready." The two walked slowly down to the dining hall, enjoying the peace and quiet of the deserted halls. The dining hall only contained a few people, the real early risers, although most of the population would be awaking fairly soon. Elrond was sitting in his place, eating a bowl of fresh fruit and drinking tea, pouring over one of his books.

"Good morning Ada!" Aragorn exclaimed, plopping down next to Elrond and swiping a strawberry.

"Indeed it is. Get your own food."

"Legolas is getting it."

"Oh, so he is feeling better than?"

"Excuse me?"

"Elladan said that he was not feeling too well last night."

"Ah, yes, he had a bit of a headache. From all of the stress. He feels perfectly all right today"

"Well that's good to know-good morning Legolas!" Elrond said, turning to Legolas as he approached, balancing a tray of fruit and pastries on one hand, and one with milk and juice on it on the other.

"Good morning lord Elrond." Legolas replied, setting the trays down on the table.

"Good morning Legolas. How are you?"

"Just fine, thank you very much."

" That's good to know. I trust that all goes well in Mirkwood, what with you being back so soon."

"Soon! It's been two weeks."

"Well, with political dealings, I would consider that soon."

"uh-huh. Well, yes. Everything is fine. Just working out some kinks with the neighbors."

"Ah. Border disputes. It is surprising indeed that you are back this soon. But enough chatter. Look! Estel has already finished his breakfast!"

"And he is starting on yours." Aragorn said through a mouthful of pastry.

" Oh no you don't." Legolas admonished, "You'll lose that shapely figure of yours". He swiped the pastry out of Aragorn's hand.

Aragorn shot him a look of mock indignation, but quickly retreated back to his own seat, allowing Legolas to sit down. The pair ate their breakfasts quickly, both feeling that they had a lot to accomplish that day, and the hours were already fleeing away from them. First they would go to the archery range. Legolas had not had a chance to practice archery for almost three weeks now, and was convinced that he would lose his skill.

They walked across the sprawling green lawn of Rivendell, The targets just visible in the distance, rising up out of the early morning fog.

**Reviewer Responses: **

**Invisigoth3:** Wow. You like my title? Weirdo. I suck at titles. So, anyway, sorry about the super long-updateness. I've been extremely busy, and spent a few days just jotting down my thoughts, without structuring them. What a nightmare to edit! I'm never "just jotting" My thoughts down again. Thanks for reviewing again!

**SmilingDragonGirl: **Wow! Another long review! I Loooove long reviews. Well, I'm glad that you liked it so far. And if you think that the end of the last chapter was a cliffie… Well I don't know what the heck the end of this chapter is. It kinda just ends right where I should've put two more pages, but I didn't want to make people wait longer.

**Deana:** Here was your chappie. Hope that you liked it. I'll try to get four up soon.

**Scoliosis: ** Sorry that the update took so long. I'll try to get four out a lot sooner.

**DarkStarofMirkwood:** Well, I don't think that I'm gonna tell you why quite yet. Ten bucks if you can guess 

**Heraldtalia:** Well, same thing to you. I won't tell you yet, but you can go ahead and try to guess. You never will. cackles

**Jadeyuy:** Well I'm guessing that this chapter had left you even more confused, so sorry about that!

**Arialas:** THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Gosh! Imagine if I had spelled it wrong for my whole fic! Wow. And the really horrible thing is that I totally knew how to spell it, and just suck at life…and thinking about that I'm doing…Things like that. If I missed anything else in this chapter feel free to point it out to me.

**Elven Hope:** Yes, we're all suckers for elf tourture. And believe me, there will be some very heavy elf angst a few chapters in the future. I've barely begun being mean to dear little Leggy.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own anything. Still haven't succeeded in kidnapping anyone. Still don't know quite how to get the human out of the way. But I'm working on it!

**Chapter 4:**

The two began warming up with some target shooting. Aragorn joked that Legolas would never be able to rid himself of his immense skill at archery. Not if he stopped "practicing" for a thousand years, so why did he bother to practice? Legolas's response was "miss one day of practice and you'll notice it. Miss two days practice, someone else will notice it. Miss three days practice, and everyone will notice it. And I've gone and missed three weeks."

Aragorn laughed. "Very well. It is a good day for archery."

The pair practiced for several hours, enjoying the sunlight and the cool breeze. They both soaked up the calming, bracing effect of Rivendell. Finally, Legolas decided that he had probably had enough practice for the day, so they moved on to horseback riding. There was one mare in the barns that Legolas had taken to, and he rode her whenever he was in Rivendell. Her name was Gwayren. Aragorn saddled up his own favorite, while Legolas groomed Gwayren meticulously, carefully currying and brushing her soft brown coat, picking her hooves, combing her mane and tail. He plaited her mane into many small braids, and, satisfied with his work, he mounted her without saddle or bridle, as is customary with elves. The two chose a long winding path that cut through the center of the woods. Legolas greeted the trees as they trotted into the shade of the thick canopy. He felt a slight twinge of pain in his temple, and brought his left hand up to massage it away. Aragorn noticed, and asked if his headache had come back.

" Just a twinge. It's fine." He placated.

However, the deeper they rode into the woods, the worse his headache got, until it was just short of a migraine. Gwayren seemed to notice her rider's discomfort, and turned back towards the barn. Aragorn laughed.

"Gwayren!" Legolas chided. "Come now."

But Gwayren just snorted, almost laughing at Legolas, and then began plodding back towards the stables deliberately.

"Well, someone wants to go back!" Aragorn laughed "If Gwayren's this determined, I don't think that we have much of a choice, do we?"

"No, I guess not." Legolas answered. "But I won't be the last one to get there."

He nudged Gwayren up into a fast canter, not wanting to tire her out before they got out of the woods. She gleefully accepted his proddings, racing along smoothly and happily. It seemed that Gwayren had needed a good ride as much as Legolas had. When they reached the edge of the woods, Legolas kicked her up into a full-blown gallop. Legolas frowned. His headache had lessened significantly the minute that they were out of the forest. He didn't know what was causing these headaches, but he was beginning to suspect that it was not simply from stress, as he had origionally decided. The more he thought about it, the more disturbing the situation became to him. Even now, the headache lingered. It was very subtle, but now that he was actually focusing, his mind did feel dull. However, Legolas was not one to fret, and decided that he would talk to Elladan or Elrond later on tonight, see if maybe they knew what was going on. But for the moment he was on the back of his favorite horse, racing across a wide field at a full gallop, and he wasn't about to let "feeling a little dull" ruin his day. He gave a yell of triumph as he pounded into the main paddock of the stables at least five paces ahead of Aragorn.

" Well, what do you expect?" Aragorn protested, as Legolas laughed. " Pitting your youthful little foal against this old man." He patted his horse's neck lovingly. The two gave their steeds good rubdowns, and a few carrots and apples for each horse. Legolas planted a kiss on Gwayren's nose affectionately before leaving the stables. By this time, it was well past noon, and the duo decided to head inside for some lunch. They ate a light meal, and then wandered over to the library, where they happily squandered the evening away, the sun painting the horizon blood red in the open window.

Legolas looked up from the book he was reading, and started when he saw how low the sun had sunk in the sky. "Aragorn! It's getting dark out already! Elladan and Elrohir are waiting for us!"

"Well, they don't need us to entertain them. They will be fine if we are a little late. Come. We can take some books back to our rooms before we go. The two quickly split up and walked back to their rooms. Legolas entered his and quickly set his books down on the bedside table. As he walked towards the door, a sharp stab of pain throbbed between his temples. He leaned against the doorframe, massaging his temples.

Legolas did not know what these mysterious headaches were, but it seemed to him that they were very spasmodic, coming and going as they pleased. Well, whatever caused them; he didn't like it, and wanted to be rid of this ever-persisting throb in his head. He decided that he would talk to Elladan about it later on tonight. He may have no choice, as he and Aragorn were going to be heading back into the woods, to the pool and the elm tree. If , perhaps, being in the woods, like last night, made his headache worse, than he was going to be in some pain tonight.

Legolas's prediction was correct. His pain increased when they walked outside, and then it doubled when they walked into the woods. Aragorn glanced at Legolas worriedly. "What is wrong?" He finally asked when Legolas winced for what must have been the tenth time and put a hand to his temple.

"Well, my headache's back. I'm not sure what is causing it. Maybe it's some kind of odd allergy. I will ask Elladan about it as soon as we get there." Legolas assured Aragorn.

" That is probably wisest. Elladan will know what it is, and what to do about it." Aragorn told Legolas confidently.

The two entered the clearing to loud splashing in the pool. Apparently the twins were trying to drown each other again. Legolas laughed and was about to go and join them, when Aragorn grabbed him by the collar of his tunic. "Elladan! Get up here!" He yelled, forcing Legolas down into a sitting position.

"Estel!" Legolas protested, but Aragorn would have none of it.

Elladan waded out of the pool and walked over to the bickering pair. "What's going on?" He asked curiously, not accustomed to seeing the two fight.

"Legolas's headache has come back." Aragorn responded. " And seeing how he was actually in enough pain to inform me of it, I think that you had better take a look at him."

" Oh, is that all Estel?" Elladan scoffed. " I do not believe that you need to baby him so over a headache."

"Perhaps it would be wise to examine Legolas before chiding our baby brother Elladan. It may be serious." Elrohir said, wading out of the pool as well.

"You know, I really am fine. It's just a headache, nothing that a few herbs won't fix…" Legolas stated.

"Well, with all due respect, I think that we should let Elladan be the judge of that." Elrohir said.

"Very well." Legolas replied, turning to Elladan.

"Well first of all, where does it hurt? Elladan inquired.

"Mostly my temples." Legolas told him, raising a hand to massage them as he answered.

" Alright. What kind of pain is it?"

"Well, it's kind of hard to describe. I guess that you could say that it's a kind of throbbing ache. Sometimes it's dull and resonating, and sometimes it's sharp and piercing." Legolas answered.

"And how does it feel now?" Elladan asked, looking slightly puzzled.

"Well, it seems to get worse when I'm outside, so right now it doesn't feel too good," Legolas said, apologetically glancing at the group.

"Describe it" Elladan commanded."

Well, it's a little bit of both kinds of pain, I guess. It's like a constant dull throbbing, punctuated by a sharp stab of pain in my temples and behind my eyes every now and again." Legolas told him.

"Hmm…" Elladan said. "Well, it sounds like a migraine, but elves aren't prone to them. Are you extra sensitive to light or sound?"

"Not really, no."

Elladan felt Legolas's forehead with the back of his hand. "Well, you aren't running a fever. Though you are a little clammy. Well, I don't really think that this is too serious, it's just odd. Some humans get headaches like this almost every day, and they can cope. Well, either way, it's something that we should get my father to diagnose. We can head back now. He should still be in his study."

" No!" Legolas exclaimed. "No." We just got here. Aragorn isn't even wet yet. I still need to talk to the tree. An extra hour or so isn't going to kill me. And this headache really isn't that big of a deal. Believe me, I've had worse. Elrond can diagnose me just as well and hour from now as he can now."

"Very well." Elladan agreed. " But only an hour. You may not be concerned, but it is a worrisome problem, and should be looked at by Elrond. Migraines in elves aren't a good thing."

Legolas gave him a look and dove into the water. He had known that they were going to baby him and fret overmuch. It was a given with the sons of Elrond. Yes, Legolas's head hurt, but it was something that he felt sure could be cured with a few herbs. It was painful, but compared to some of the other wounds and ailments that he had had to endure, this was but a trifle, and would be but a memory in almost no time at all. Legolas had actually been satisfied with the reaction he had gotten from Estel and the twins. They had been worried, perhaps overmuch, but they hadn't pushed for him to return to Rivendell right away, so he had really gotten the best result possible out of the confrontation.

Feeling quite proud of himself, Legolas waded up out of the water and over to the Elm tree. He laid his hand on it, preparing to jump for the lowest branch. He started and pulled back when another sharp pain assailed him. _Maybe it is some kind of allergy. _He thought.

_Well, I do hope that you aren't allergic to me!_ The tree thought to him.

_Don't be ridiculous._ Legolas thought back. _If I were allergic to elm trees I would have found out a long time ago. _ With that, Legolas swung himself up onto the branch. The sudden movement made him dizzy, but he managed to catch his balance before anyone below him noticed him falter. Legolas swiftly ascended into the uppermost branches of the tree, his view to the ground, as well as the view from the ground to him, obscured by many tiers of gracefully curving leaves. He could see the windows of Imladris glowing cheerfully in the distance. Now that Legolas was completely isolated, he took a moment to consider himself. He turned his thoughts inwards, trying to pinpoint the origon of the pain. He could not, and thinking about it only made the throb worse. More than anything Legolas wished that he could just talk to Elrond about it, take the proper herb, and then be done with this odd malady. Legolas hated being injured. They always seemed so trivial to his active mind, and yet they took ages to heal, and kept him bed-ridden for much longer than he was willing to be.

Suddenly, a wave of exaustion washed over Legolas, and the world tilted crazily, accompanied by an unpleasant jerking sensation in his stomach. Legolas tried to move inwards, closer to the trunk of the tree where he could balance and orient himself, but it was already too late, and as Legolas felt his mind slipping, he also seemed to feel his body slipping, right out of the tree. It creaked and swayed, and Legolas felt and heard the tree scream, setting off a bright burst of pain behind his eyes, and driving the last of his counsciousness away.

**Author's Note: **Heh heh heh. Yes. I cliffied you! _Laughs maniacally_ heh. _Runs away and hides_……….oh, and I'm going under the knife, so the next update probably won't be for a while as well…….._cackles maniacally again_

**Reviewer responses:**

**Evenstar606:**Hey! Thanks for reviewing! I was worried that I wasn't gonna get ant more reviewers than the original 4 or 5 that reviewed the first two chapters! Beta is kind of like the test stage of a product before it is actually released. In fics, it means someone (usually a fellow author) that reads your fic before you post it, and corrects any errors that you might have missed. Well, to the best of my knowledge anyway!

**Shadow Topaz: **Well, I'd have to say that you missed the mark! (ha ha ha ha ha! I'm sooooo funny.) Well, that's okay. I wouldn't expect anyone to be able to guess what my twisted mind is going to come up with.

**XdragonsX:** I really don't know why you bothered to review my fic. You could have told me in person. Well, that's okay. I evened out the score with the review that I gave you! For everyone else out there, she's my sis, and this is the review that she left:

HI SISSYPOO! i read ur story...magnificent...and u didnt want me too... it twas good...twas good...yea, so ur asleep rite now((we are in the same room for everyone else reading the reviews-she's my sister hence sissypoo lol)) so now im gonna motivate you to write more and more and more bc maura is interested, good job

love maura a.k.a XdragonsX

………………………………..little booger. Well anyway.

**Arialas: **"flush your head down a public toilet", "all the angry fan people would line up and shoot you with gold plated sniper rifles" Hahahaha! I think that you have quite a sense of humor as well, to make that one up on the spot! Oh, and I'm glad that you think that I have good word choice. It's nice to know that I have that ability in writing, because most of the time I can't figure out what the word I should use is when I'm talking!

**Ilaaris:** Glad that you liked it!

**Dark Star of Mirkwood:** I wonder if this chapter helped you out at all? No. No, probably not. I made it too confuzzling for that.

**SmilingDragonGirl:** Yay! Another long review! _Huggles to death _I know! I love that image as well. He would look good in a fluffy white bathrobe….I want a fluffy white bathrobe….Tasty indeed!

**Invisigoth3:** Well, I hope that this chapter helps you out. But with the cliffie, I doubt that you'll still be happy that I posted!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer**: Don't own any of the recognizable characters. Nope. Not one. There have been several kidnapping attempts aimed at Legolas, and one for the twins, but the stupid human just keeps getting in the way. Guess that I'll have to get him out of the picture first, won't I? Also, the only profit that I turn from writing this is the lovely reviews that you'll be leaving.

**Author's Note: **I'm so sorry that it took so long for me to get this chapter out, but the surgery was a lot worse that I thought it would be, and I didn't really get back to being myself until I was three weeks into school, and by that point I hadn't really absorbed anything that I'd been taught in those three weeks, so I had a lot to learn. I'm taking a lot of really hard courses, and I enjoy them, but they leave very little time for writing fics (or sleeping) since every time that I get on my computer to type this fic, I end up feeling bad about not doing this assignment or that assignment. (Actually, I should probably be doing my thing on the Iraqi constitution right now…but I won't because I just finished my English story) My life has been very hectic lately, and I've had a block about how to make this situation un-corny, and everything that I wrote was just stupid so that I had to redo it, so on top of not having time to work on it, I had no motivation to work on it, because it wouldn't turn out right. So I've been sitting here going wow…I haven't updated in 2…3…4 months. And then I figured that it didn't really matter if I didn't update for a few more weeks, because there probably wasn't anyone who even remembered my fic by now, so it wouldn't matter if I let it hang for a few more weeks, until the end of the quarter. But then I got an e-mail from smilingdragongirl (who is no longer smiling dragon girl, but it forget what the new sn is sooooo) who was checking up on me, and probably thought I was dead since I hadn't updated since before my surgery, and I realized that hey, people do still love me! And that just cleared my block up right away, and I can't believe that I was being so stupid, because I really only had to change one little thing to make this situation work. Such is life. I just want to send out a special thank you to smilingdragongirl for getting me back on my feet. THANKS!

**Chapter 5:**

Legolas woke slowly. The first thing that he noticed was that his head hurt. Actually, that was an understatement. His head felt like it was splitting open in about twenty different places. The second thing that he noticed was that something was burning into his eyes. A red light seared into his head, it felt as if two white-hot knives were searing into his pounding head through his eyes. He brought his arm up to cover his them, which brought his attention to his ribs. When he raised his arm, they cried out in strong protest, driving the breath from his body in a strangled cry. He couldn't get it back now. His breath was catching in his throat; he couldn't bring the air into his lungs. White-hot knives pierced his head and his chest. He saw brilliant starbursts, heard his heartbeat racing in his ears, and then something else.

A familiar voice called out to him. "Legolas!" He felt a hand tighten around his wrist, and then it dragged his arm away from his eyes, and back down to his side. The light hit him with the force of a battering ram, he twisted and writhed to get away from the horrible pain, but there was a heavy weight holding him down, his arms pinned uselessly at his side. He didn't know who he was or where he was. All he knew was the horrible, all encompassing pain searing behind his eyes, into his head, driving all sane thought from his being.

He was dimly aware of voices speaking to each other, but they came to him thickly, as though from underwater, and he could not understand what they meant. "Ada quick, he can't breathe…his ribs, and there's something wrong with his eyes…" "Hold him tight…doesn't know where…"

Legolas heard the voices, but he did not recognize or understand them, they were simply there, adding the pounding noise of their hurried conversation to his utter misery. All he knew was that he had to get free; his head was going to burst. He couldn't stand the pain. He squeezed his eyes shut as tightly as possible and gasped trying to bring oxygen into his traumatized body. He couldn't do it. It hurt too much. The pain writhed in his head like a living thing- it wanted to kill him. He wanted to die. It was squeezing him tighter and tighter…his lungs, his head…He twisted powerfully to the side, breaking his captive hands free, he darted them up to his eyes.

"ADA" someone yelled. Then hands gripped at his wrists again, and though they didn't try to pull them down to his sides and expose him to the horrible searing knives again, Legolas jerked instinctively at their cool touch. A voice traveled through the pain, again coming from somewhere deep underwater. " Legolas, your ribs are broken. You cannot keep your hands at your face; this is what is making it so that you can't breathe. You need to lower them. The hands began to slowly pull his away from his eyes. "No!" he sobbed, "My eyes…"he moaned brokenly, miserably. He had never been in this much pain in his entire life. He wanted it to be over. He wanted to gouge his eyes out of his head. He wanted this suffering to end. The voice spoke even more gently "it is all right, I will cover them for you. Lower your hands. Legolas did as he was told, and brought his shaking clammy hands down to his sides. They had been replaced by a pair of cool soothing ones. "Good. Now you need to relax and try to breathe regularly." Legolas tried to inhale through the pain, and the air came to him as a miserable sob, but it came, and along with it, another starburst of pain erupted in his head. He cried out softly, and jerked his hand towards his head, but another set of hands grasped it and held it firmly in place. Another voice spoke to him softly. "Lie still, mellon-nin, you are safe."

Now that Legolas was breathing again, albeit sporadically, Elrond turned his attention to this other problem. He turned towards a very stricken Estel, without uncovering Legolas's eyes, and told him " the light hurts his eyes. Please close the curtains. Aragorn sprang to do as his father said, and the room was pitch black in seconds. The only sound was Legolas's miserable sobs and labored breathing. "Alright Legolas," Elrond spoke softly, close to his ear, " I'm going to move my hands now" "No! Please!" He whimpered. "It's alright." Elrond said, "The curtains are drawn. You will be fine." Elrond took his hands away slowly, and then Legolas opened his eyes even more slowly, but found that Elrond had spoken the truth, it was dark. "Elbereth, what's happening to me?" Legolas whispered to the darkness, squeezing his eyes shut on the horrible pain.

Elrond moved from the bed, and lit a few candles, providing some dim light to see by. Legolas was not in good condition. He wasn't breathing well, his skin glistened with a cold sweat, and tears coarsed silently down his ashen cheeks. Estel stared at his pale friends face, stricken. He turned to Elrond, eyes brimming over with horror. "Ada, he's crying." Elrond nodded at his son grimly. I know. He then leaned over Legolas and placed a hand on his feverish forehead. "Shh, greenleaf, right now your body needs sleep." Legolas could feel his mind slipping as the sharp intense pain turned into a hazy throb, and then he felt nothing as his consciousness slipped away from him.

Elrond wasn't quite sure what was wrong with the elf, but it wasn't what he had been expecting. When Estel and the twins had come home carrying an unconscious Legolas with them, he had been surprised enough, but when he heard the story of the elf falling from a tree, he was shocked. Upon examining him, Elrond found several broken ribs and a concussion. However, he thought that Legolas had gotten off easy, especially after falling almost a hundred feet out of a tree to the hard, rocky ground. However, Elrond was no longer so sure of this assessment. Legolas had been in such excruciating pain that he had preferred to cover his eyes than to breathe. Could he have missed something? Elrond had expected Legolas to awaken with a mild headache and some sore ribs. Instead he had cried out in pain, and flung Estel, who had been trying to keep his arms at his sides so that he could breathe, into the bedside table, obviously having no clue that it had been Estel standing next to him, or that he was trying to help.

It was good that Legolas had woken so early, after being unconscious for only several hours, but the amount of pain he was in was disturbing. Elrond did not know what could have caused such an intense pain in the elf. His thoughts jumped to a brain hemorrhage. With the symptoms, it was a possibility. Blood building up in the skull, causing intense pressure and pain… He shuddered. But a hemorrhage wouldn't explain the intense pain in the eyes. He couldn't truly know what was wrong with Legolas until he fully awoke, and could be examined properly. But as Elrond watched his feverish patient toss and turn in his troubled sleep, a cold sweat forming on his clammy brow, he couldn't help but be apprehensive about what he might discover.

**Author's note #2: ** Alright, So I'm not a doctor, and I don't know what the symptoms of a brain hemhorrage are, or if that's even what a brain hemmorage is, but it sounded right, so I put it in there. Sorry that this chapter was so short, but this was hand's down the best spot to break the story at. I'll try to update soon.

**Reviewer responses:**

**Mcross: **Hey! Thanks for reviewing! It's always nice to get a new reviewer…although I don't know how you found this fic…I haven't updated it in like 4 months…well, anyway. Here's your update!

**Arialas:** Personally I'd like to know where you find all of these platinum plated sniper rifles. And I'm sorry if I've killed you, I know that it is more than unfair to leave you hanging on a cliffie for 4 months. I'll try not to do it again ;).

**Siliveren Tinu:** God I love long reviews! And this is was-previously-smilingdragongirl, right? Well if it is, Just need to say thanks again. And if it isn't well, thanks for such a long review. They make me feel all warm and fuzzly inside.

**Yami Pandora: ** Here's your update!

**Redleef:** Sorry about the cliffie. I really do feel horrible leaving everyone hanging for so long!

**Julie:** Glad that you liked it! Yes, I like angst too, and I'm glad that you think that I write it well!

**Ki10fuzz:** Thanks for the compliment, and I'm glad that you liked it!

**SAM: **Thanks! Here it is(well, was)

**H2Omelon:** What an awesome pename! Every time I see it I imagine a big round watermelon-flavored water droplet…it's very cool. And I apologize profusely for the 4 month cliffie, it was horrible of me, and I'll never ever do it again.

**A'mael Eledhwn:** Here you go, hope that you liked it!

**Deana: **Thanks for the review! I love your fics! But I think that I'll avoid reading "The Sound of Silence" until I finish this fic. I tend to get Ideas from things that I read, and I wouldn't want to end up with any of your brilliant ideas tangled up in my sloppy ones!

**Evenstar606:** Yeah, first one to put together all of the pieces gets a cookie.

**Twighlight Shadow:** Thanks! It's nice to know that I'm loved!

**Thousand Faces:** You probably won't read this, but if you do, thenn I'm sorry for disappearing off the face of the planet…I tend to do that to people a lot. And it really sucks, cuz right now I need a friend like you, who's more like me…


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